The best way of collecting evidence is to record 'EVERYTHING'. But their is often also a side-effect in doing so, and that is the likelihood that your targeting will actually STOP while you're doing the recording. So recording is a win-win for Targeted Individuals, in that you will either collect evidence, or those perps that signal, intimidate, or harass you, will stop while your recording them.

 

The equipment doesn't have to be expensive. Regardless of whether I have money or not, I never like to feel that I'm being ripped off and will always try to get the best that I can, for as little money as possible.

 

Targeted Individuals sometimes shun away from technology, but that's what the people who are attacking you want you to do, because technology can be used against them and without it, you will become more isolated.  Any radiation from WIFI is the least of your worries as a TI. Be proactive, prepare to record things before you leave your house. As you become more used to recording, actually go out of your house with the INTENTION of doing your best to record people who are doing you wrong.

 

Note that Dash-cams of the style I use, are also known as 'Action Cams' or 'Action Cameras'. Search either Amazon or Ebay for '4K Action Camera' and you'll start to realise just how many makes and models their are our their. ALWAYS buy from a supplier that accepts returns, and open the packaging carefully in case you need to return. And ALWAYS test the recording quality as soon as you get the camera.

 

 

Hardware

 

On a Budget

 

My minimum recommendations for you are as follows:-

 

1 x Mobile Smart Phone (Android phones are pretty cheap these days).

1 x 32Gb Micro SD Card for Smart Phone.

1 x Audio Recorder (Dictaphone). 8Gb store capacity is common and plenty for most.

 

If you have a car :-

 

1 x Dash Cam  / Car Camera

1 x Non-Slip Sticky Grip Mat (cheaper than buying a Windshield mount)

 

 

If you have  more money

 

1 x Mobile Smart Phone (Android phones are pretty cheap these days).

1 x 64Gb Micro SD Card for Smart Phone.

1 x Audio Recorder (Dictaphone). 8Gb store capacity is common and plenty for most.

1 x Body Cam.

 

If you have a car :-

 

3 or 4 x Dash Cams / Car Cameras (Allows you to capture Left, Right, Front, Rear).

3 or 4 x 64Gb Micro SD cards (32Gb capacity if probably OK for most though) for Dash-Cams.

3 or 4 x Window Screen /Wind Shield suction mounts.

3 or 4 x Longer Micro-USB cables, depending on the width of your car

1 or 2 x Extra Cigarette  / USB adapters to power the cameras.

 

 

A Word Of Caution

 

It can often look like your camera is faulty, when it is not. The usual suspect before sending your camera back (if it's less than 12 months old) or replacing it,  will be the memory card you have installed. It may have gone corrupt and will require formatting on your computer. Some laptops have a memory card slot built in, otherwise an adapter will be required.

 

Their are a LOT of FAKE MEMORY CARDS out there. I bought a number of 'Sandisk' and 'Samsung' microSD memory cards. All were faulty. All made my cameras appear faulty. ALL WERE FAKE. They were bought from both Amazon and Ebay.

 

I've had good results using Philips and Toshiba memory cards, and more recently I bought a 64Gb 'Sandisk' card from a better supplier at a very reasonable £15 (which included delivery).

 

Before installing your memory card in to your camera, I'd recommend using a program on your computer that tests it's capacity and it's reliability. Fake cards will often quote a capacity, e.g. 32Gb, and will format to near their quoted capacity (formatted and unformatted capacities are always different) e.g. 30Gb, as you'd expect. But when tested, will fail well short of that, e.g. 18Gb. This is why your camera will fail, or the videos appear not to record.

 

The dash-cams that I use say in the manual that the max memory card size that can be used is 64Gb, and if you try to format them in the camera that high capacity memory card will fail. BUT is you format them on your computer, using the FAT32 format, then they work just fine, to the full capacity.

 

Here is a link explaining how to identify fake Samsung memory cards, with an explanation of how to test them = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySJ7oCjYME0

 

 

Audio Recorders / Dictaphones

 

There are thousands of different versions of audio recorder. Most have build in storage space, some DO NOT, so beware of those, as they could easily increase the overall cost by 50% once you've added a memory card to it. 8Gb is usually more than enough and can record at a very good audio quality, for hours. Audio recorders also only have a very basic screen, if any, which really helps with the battery life of the device. Quality of construction varies a lot. The 2 I have look very similar. I was unable to find the same model that I had originally, so I obtained a similar looking one as a backup. I purchased it 2nd hand from the Amazon store on ebay, for about £6.50, which included delivery and was a bargain!! It is also possible to purchase that same model for about £15 here .The ones I have appear to be made of metal and are very robust. I'd imagine that they would survive an impact perfectly OK, if they were dropped. Don't pay more than £20 or $25 dollars for one.

 

I do have another one, of a different design, but it's pretty crap. The battery failed. Well, actually the internal charging circuit failed, as I can install a new, fully charged battery and it'll work, but I then have to remove the battery and charge it, for the device to work. All of these devices have internal batteries that AREN'T DESIGNED TO BE REMOVED! This poor quality audio recorder also has very bad construction, and should be avoided. Here are the ones I have tried =

 

​                 

 

 

Body Cams / Cameras

 

Resolution: of 1080p is great but uses more memory capacity (this is the resolution I use). 720p is OK, with longer recording times, but lower quality. I've seen some good results with cameras running at 480p, but they're a pretty old type now, and won't be any good for seeing detail at a distance, e.g. for facial identification.

 

Beware where you are using yours. They're great for using while walking and when in a shop (you may be accused of shoplifting, but with one of these cameras you have proof that you didn't), but remove them and switch them off when entering schools, nurseries, and banks. You don't want to be accused of being a paedophile, or for collecting information about bank security.

 

The main problem with body cams is camera shake. The very expensive ones can compensate for this (literally labelled as anti-shake). The cheaper ones like I use (pictures right), do not. If you see something of interest, pause and let it record.

 

 

 

 

Body Cam Angle

 

You may need to do a few test recordings first (I'd recommend this).  Check whether you can get away with the camera attached to the neck of your shirt (check to see if your chin is obscuring the recorded image), or a shirt pocket if you have one (I don't have any shirts with pockets). You may find that the angle of the recording it too steep/high. Either just be aware of where it it recording, or pad out the bracket of the body-cam to compensate. You may be lucky and it's perfect first time!!

 

 

Dash Cams

 

There are literally THOUSANDS of different types of dash-cams, also just known as car cameras. I personally chose one that has the same 'form factor' (dimensions) as a Go-Pro. The size is good, and they are compatible with many Go-Pro cheap knock off screen mounts and brackets. BUT, just because they look the same, it doesn't mean they are.

 

I personally have 3 different dash-cams. At a glance, they all look the same, but in reality they are all quite different.

 

The 3 cameras shown are mine, and are for my protection. When I use them, I have far less people trying to pull out in front of me.

 

​

 

Note the tape on top of 2 of them. They have an LED light to indicate when they are recording, which can be seen from the front of them when they are in operation. I don't want perps to know if I've forgotten to switch them on or not. All 3 have a colour display on the other side, which can be used to change settings, format the memory cards, or just see what the camera is point at. The display can also be used to play-back recordings, but it's a bit fiddly and the display is small, so your better off doing that on a computer.

 

The cameras manual says that the max memory card size that can be used is 32Gb, and if you try to format them in the camera, that high capacity memory card will fail. BUT is you format them on your computer, using FAT32 format, then they work just fine to the full capacity.

 

They come with their own batteries, which are charged IN the cameras. They'll last for some hours, depending on the length of screen saver you have set in the settings. The batteries seem interchangeable from the 3 different makes I have.  I prefer to keep mine connected to USB cables, powered by USB cigarette lighter adapters connected to the car. 2 of the cameras came with a water-proof housing, as in the picture in the heading of this page. Since you need to remove the camera from that housing to access the memory card, I don't use them.

 

Some of the cameras have an option for 'Driving Mode'. This makes the camera start recording when it receives power from it's USB  port, but requires a power source that switches on and off with your cars ignition. Not all cigarette lighter sockets do this, but is useful if your the kind of person who would forget to start them recording before you start your journey.

 

The main difference in the above 3 camera:

 

Here are examples of the video quality from these 3 cameras. Please RIGHT CLICK on the camera (Front, Middle or Rear) whose video quality you want to check, and select download or 'save link as', otherwise, your web browser might try to transcode the video, which won't be a true depiction of the quality (or lack of). All 3 cameras were recording at 1080p, 30fps. All the recording were taken on the same cloudy / dull day.

 

• Front - This camera is usually at the front of my vehicle, but in this occasion, I placed it on the RHS window.
• Middle
• Rear

 

It's good to choose cameras that have a 'car mode'. This means that they will start recording as soon as they receive external power via their USB port. The power adapters should be connected to your cigarette lighter socket, so that when the ignition is started, the cameras power-up. This saves having to remember to switch them on before you drive off. They will also save their recordings and power down when the ignition is switched off.

 

Front

 

It cost me about £40 from Amazon. To see the exact same one, use this link. The recording quality is excellent (in my opinion), and is pretty good with light/dark areas. It came with a carry case, multiple adapters for mounting on to various things, e.g. Handlebars on a bicycle, but didn't come with a wind-shield / window-screen mounting.  Very Wide angle lens. I use this for my front, main facing camera. It can do 4K resolution, but gobbles up the memory card quickly at that setting. I usually select 1080p, and either 30 or 60 fps (frames per second). It comes with a remote to turn the video camera either on/off, or to take a photo. The remote is more of a gimmick and I stopped using it, preferring to switch the camera on manually. It has 2 batteries (one has already failed, but you really only need one).

 

It has WIFI built in, so you can view what the camera is doing via your phone. I believe this option can be turned off to save battery life. I used the WIFI once when I first had it, but I've never used it since.

 

Having a wider lens means that I can obviously capture a wider area, but that does mean that people in the distance are smaller and they therefore loose some detail. Setting the camera to 4K would overcome this, but as mentioned above, it would reduce the recording time - and technically you would need a 4K TV or 4K laptop/computer to be able to view video.

 

 

 

Middle

 

This has a fairly wide angled lens. Not as wide as the one above, but still pretty good. Recorded image quality is sharp and pretty good all round. Max resolution is also 4K. Again, I usually set mine to 1080p for longer recording times. It also has a slow motion setting (at 720p, 120fps), which some might find useful for recording FAST signalling movements, but gobbles up memory quickly at that setting.

 

If I decide to buy another one, it would likely be this one. I was lucky enough to receive this camera as  present. I hope to be able to verify the make and model soon.

 

 

Rear

 

This camera claims to be 1080p and looks almost identical to the other 2, but it's a pile of junk!! The fps (frames per second) is no where near the claimed 30fps. The videos are grainy and struggle with contrast. If I'd received this one first I would not have got another of this style of camera, which would have been a big mistake. This is why you need to buy from a company that is willing to accept returns. You can't tell the quality of many of these cameras before you buy them and open the packaging, as many don't have reliable online reviews.

 

The lens angle is also really bad, with a very poor field of view. Looking at the camera, I can see the glass of the lens is flat, while the others have a very obvious curve in the lens. Even the menu for the settings is really poor. If also lacks a micro-HDMI out socket which the other 2 have, and doesn't claim to be 4K. The lack of these 2 features (micro-HDMI & 4K)  might be a good indication that the camera lacks quality. I will be changing this camera soon. This camera has NO WIFI.

 

 

 

​Software

 

The good news that all the software you need for viewing and editing your audio or video, IS FREE.

 

 

Audio - Audacity

 

 

For the editing of audio, I use Audacity.  It's FREE, and is available for Linux, Windows or Mac. It's very powerful and can look complicated when first viewed, but you don't need to use 90% of it's features. All you need to be able to learn is how to do the following:-

 

• Import audio file
• Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Forward
• Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select sections
• Zoom in or out of recording
• Amplify
• Low Pass or High Pass or Noise Reduction Filters
• Undo (your mistakes)
• Save section or save whole audio file

 

And that's prety much it. Amplify, High Pass Filter and Low Pass Filters are just INBUILT plug-ins that will change a selected piece of audio for you. When you've recorded someone, but can't quite hear what they are saying, these filters will help you cut through background noise, etc. It's usually a good idea to apply the filter (either High or Low, never both) and then amply the amplify after, as you don't want to amplify any noise. So, a High pass filter will allow high pitched sounds to go through the filter, but will remove any Low, bassy sounds. The reverse is true of the Low pass filter.

 

Areas of the audio that you want to work on, are just selected with the mouse, as in the grey stripe in the image above. So when you apply the filter, it will just apply it to that area. Zooming i and out so that you can  view the sound file in greater detail and for more accurate editing is done using CRTL key and either 1 (Zoom in ), 2 (Normal View) or 3 (Zoom out).

 

Their are video tutorials available on youtube. Here.

 

 

 

 

Video - Kdenlive

 

I've changed my recommendation for a video editor. I used to recommend Flowblade, but have now come to the conclusion that it's just too buggy. No one wants to work on a video for hours, just to have the whole thing crash. I now recommend 'KDENLIVE, which is also free, and the latest version is very stable and has many more features than Flowblade. The work flow if very similar to Flowblade, and their are many videos on Youtube to help new users.

 

Their are hundreds of different video editors, but this is the video editor that I currently use. It's FREE. It's mostly available for different versions of Linux, but their are versions for Windows and Mac, but these are in 'Beta', so I cannot say how stable those versions are.

 

Kdenlive has many features, including auto-backup, titler, the use of ANY audio format, video effects and transitions, single frame stepping, single frame save, etc. And extra features can be downloaded from the designers forum.

 

​